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Legal Staff New & Views Letter Eight Rules Can Speed up Billing,
& Improve Cash Flow... Rule #2 Next comes the engagement letter, or retainer agreement, which should basically reiterates the initial interview. It tells the client about the firm, describes the services the attorney will provide, outlines the billing rates for difference levels of persons in the office and explains billing and payment procedures. This should be signed by the attorney and the client. The original should go in your file and copy given to the client. Rule #3 A client information sheet should be completed at the initial contact and retainer. Information on the contact sheet should be verified by a staff member to the extent possible through the Secretary of State or other resources. Rule #4 Keep Daily Time Records. With all the time slip, record programs and available billing programs, this is a vital function. If performed daily, it will prevent losing time. If the attorney keeps his or her time records daily they are less likely to miss a half hour here or there. Lost time is lost money. Also, time descriptions need to be as complete as possible. This prevents questions by the clients. If they see too many "reviewed file notes," they may think they are getting ripped off. If "reviewed file" is used, it needs to have a "regarding topic" so that clients understand that what is being done is not a duplication. Make a habit of sending photocopies of correspondence to the client to keep them informed of what is being done on his or her behalf. A letter explaining what happened in court (even if the client was there) is a good idea, it prevents telephone calls later. And if you include the next court date, it will serve as a notice to the client. Rule #5 Every firm should have a policy on how the firm will treat unbilled hours. A monthly billing report will reveal receivables that have gone beyond the 30 day period. Anything that falls into that category should bear a penalty, i.e. a percentage of the uncollected funds which will be deducted from the assigned attorney's monthly check. Rule #6 Attorney involvement in the billing process should be limited as much as possible. You can resolve this issue by providing the attorney with a weekly billing report that he or she can make changes on and forward to the person in charge of billing. At the end of the month the weekly reports can be consolidated and sent to the client without delay. Rule #7 Make bills look like bills. Use an Invoice No. and due date. Rule #8 Billing and collection should delegated to one person in the office. This will prevent errors and duplication of effort. As the primary responsibility of one person, it will not get pushed to the back burner while trying to stay on top of other pressing matters. Be All That You Can Be... You don't necessarily have to join the army to do that. Every firm should have a procedures manual for each new member-be it attorney or staff. A one week training orientation should be primary for everyone. The manual and training program should include document management, new matters, billing, data base, and so on. Education needs to be encouraged by the Office Administrator or one of the attorneys. Although they may need a push in that direction continuing education programs benefit everyone. Staff members should be encouraged to attend and report at the next staff meeting to share what they learned. Attorneys have a tendency to work at the 11th hour (it's a chronic condition) That means they want secretaries who "know it all, read their minds, and never make mistakes." Continuing education benefits everyone, the knowledge is brought back to the firm's practice and to the secretary who applies that knowledge to her career goals. What's Cookin'... Preheat oven to 325, Grease and flour 10" tube or 12 cup Bundt pan. Sprinkle nuts over bottom of pan. Mix all cake ingredients together. Pour batter over nuts. Bake 1 hour. Cool. Invert on serving plate. Prick top. Drizzle and smooth glaze evenly over top and sides. Allow cake to absorb glaze. Repeat till glaze is used up. Glaze: Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in rum. Submitted by Chris Reed Getting ready for the holidays and your
family and friends want to organize a cookie exchange? Who has that
kind of time?!! Suggest a recipe exchange instead. It's one less thing
to think about and accomplishes the same thing. You can try all the
new recipes when you have more time after the holidays. It is also
a nice way to keep in touch with friends you don't see as often as
you would like. For information contact Gloria Norton at DuPage County Bar Association, 126 S. County Farm Road, Wheaton, IL 60187-4597, Telephone 630-653-7779, Fax to 630-653-7870 or E-Mail to: gnorton@dcba.org. |
